Chapter Text
(Name) was suspiciously silent as his mother pulled up to the curb where she was to drop him off for his summer College Prep program. She had chalked this up to be regarding the extended amount of time that he was to be away from home, as the program was to simulate a college experience, and would last five weeks in order for students to get an idea of the college life. She let out a sigh and turned to face her son, murmuring what may have been words of gentle chiding. Or, they could have been her trying to tell her son that he wouldn't be able to make it in the real world without becoming independent of his family, for all he knew. He paid no mind to her soft tone, instead opting to stare out the window at the imposing building looming over the small car.
There Brookline stood, glaring menacingly down at them as though they were trespassers. The thick blanket of fog that lay over the grounds of the dormitory did not go unnoticed by (Name), who inwardly shuddered at the eerie effect that it had upon the building. It looked like something straight out of a Poe story; all it was missing were some tragically unstable inhabitants destined to a ghastly fate.
(Name) sighed. Of course this would have to be the year that the college decided to renovate the other student dorms, forcing the NHCP to move their participants into the former sanitarium. Despite this place being called a historical site, it gave (Name) the creeps. Who would want to remember the way people were treated in these places before they were actually recognized as human beings?
Unfortunately for (Name), as he had already been enrolled in this program and the deposit he put down to reserve his spot was nonrefundable, he had no choice but to play with the hand he was dealt, meaning that he was to stay in a decrepit old building where the people were held in cells and deprived of their basic human rights.
(Name) let out a sigh, startling his mother out of her rambling. "Thanks Mom, I know. I'll call you tonight," (Name) hugged his mother with one arm and pushed open the car door with the other, pausing only to grab his suitcase and backpack out of the trunk. He stood on the curb and waved as his mom drove away, then swept the area in order to try and find where all of the other students were congregated and by doing so, noticed someone emerging from a taxicab. The odd thing about the taxi was that it had stopped thirty feet away from the curb. Slightly curious (and slightly hopeful for a new friend), he walked over.
"Hey," (Name) said to the boy as he pulled his bags out of the taxi's trunk.
"Hi," the boy responded as he shouldered his backpack and closed the trunk, the taxi speeding away as soon as the the trunk clicked shut.
"(Name)," he introduced himself.
"I'm Dan," the boy said and, after slightly hesitating, offered his hand to shake. Amused by the gesture, (Name) cracked a smile and shook his hand.
"What are you in for?" (Name) asked Dan, trying to make conversation with him as they slowly made their way to the dormitories, weighed down by their luggage. "I'm studying history. Art history. Literature. Art. Looking around a bit, but those are my primary interests."
"I'm going to be studying history, mostly. A bit of psychology," Dan replied.
(Name) grinned, excited that he'd found another person interested in studying history. "Aww, that's cool man. I took a course back in tenth grade, I really liked it but it just didn't like me back. We're still friends, but man was that break up a doozy," (Name) laughed.
Dan smiled, unsure how to respond to (Name)'s rather eccentric rambling.
(Name)'s smile faded, and panic began to set in.Oh my God, stop talking (Name), you're such a weirdo.
(Name) made a slightly pained expression, "I'm sorry. I'm going on and I must sound so odd... I'm sorry. I have no social skills."
Luckily, Dan seemed to be the kind of guy who was socially awkward, or at least knew how to deal with it, "No worries," he said lightly.
The duo made light conversation up to the third floor, and halfway down the hall, Dan stopped and checked his slip of paper.
"Well, this is me," Dan announced, "Room 3808."
"Alright. Looks like I'm down the hall. 3824," (Name) smiled, "See ya later, Dan."
"Later, (Name)." And with that, Dan entered his room and closed the door behind him.
(Name) headed to his room and opened the door. Seeing no one inside, he chose the bed furthest from the door, dropped his bags on the desk, and sat on the bed. He was already tired, and it was only what... He checked his watch. Whoa, It was already 3:30. The day was moving more quickly than he thought. He sighed and fell back onto the mattress.
Five weeks,(Name) told himself as he let his eyes close. Well, at least now it won't be boring.